Fifty Pounds gin is a Traditional London dry distilled in the south-east of London by John Dore & Co Limited.

The name originates from the levy that was placed on gin under the Gin act of 1736. In an effort to curb the great “Gin Craze” that was happing in England at the time, George II passed the Gin act and an annual levy of £50 was imposed on all who wanted to distill gin.

This gin contains botanicals from four different continents, which are hand selected by the plant experts, depending on the season.

The main botanicals are as follows:

Juniper Berries

Coriander Seed

Grains of Paradise

Savory

Orange & Lemon Peel

Liquorice

Angelica Root

Nose:

A crisp, clean, classic London dry with slightly earthy tones. You can also pick out the juniper, Lemon and lime peel which gives it a touch of sweetness.

Palate:

Taken neat and you are first hit with Juniper, followed up by the lemon and coriander. There are citrus flavours in the middle with a nice spicy hit finishing with anise, angelica, juniper and citrus rind.

Mixed with a tonic (my choice being a fentimans) and the gin is lost. It would seem that at 43.5%, this gin is just not strong enough to sit well with a tonic.

Conclusion

If are looking for a good base gin for a cocktail then this is it – the uncomplicated nature of this gin makes it perfect for mixing but, unfortunately, the alcoholic content is lost when taken with a Tonic. This means you lose that lovely juniper taste that so characterises a classic G&T.